Brothers North Plaza Shaping Up in Hampton

New Anchor Restaurant Opens for Business Today

By Susan Morse

Hampton Union, Tuesday, April 1, 2008

[The following article is courtesy of the Hampton Union and Seacoast Online.]

Above, Ted Kougianos points to the menu in his restaurant, Brothers North. Below, is a look at the new plaza at the former site of Newick's restaurant on Route 1 in Hampton.[Don Clark Photo]

HAMPTON -- Brothers North Plaza has been steadily gaining shape on the site of the former Newick's restaurant on Route 1.

Today its anchor restaurant, Brothers North Restaurant and Lounge, opens to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Owner Ted Kougianos modeled the American and Greek restaurant after his other business, New Brothers Restaurant and Deli in Danvers, Mass., and the cafeteria-style eateries of New York. The 199-seat restaurant is expected to attract more than 5,000 customers a week.

Customers are seated by a hostess before going through the line for dinner menu items such as spinach filo pie, lamb shish kabob, roast chicken, and Greek-style lasagne.

The restaurant joins Artichokes and Spectra Hair and Nails as open for business in the new plaza. Cleary Cleaners will be moving in. There are still empty storefronts available.

The beige-and-white stone front of the L-shaped strip mall doesn't look like anything else currently on Route 1.

It's a "mini-power mall, South Beach with a Greek flavor," said plaza co-owner Peter Lukas of Lukas Greenhouse fame. "People describe it, they say, it's something you see in Arizona, California, it's a nice addition to Hampton."

As downtown Hampton struggles to keep storefronts filled, vendors wait in line to move into Brothers North Plaza about a mile north.

"Realtors call from all over New England," said Lukas. "We want to put the right tenants together. I think people will grow off of Ted's business."

He's turned away Chinese restaurants and other restaurants due to the parking limitations that two dining establishments would bring, and also tattoo parlors and karate studios.

"We've got plenty of applicants," Lukas said, "we wanted upscale."

One reason for the demand is the 130 parking spaces out front. It was a major factor for Lorraine and Bob King in moving their kitchen store Artichokes from Breakfast Hill to Hampton. They also gained another 1,000 square feet of store space.

The store sells gift baskets, wine, Viking cookware and all types of colorful kitchen accessories. The couple, who live in Hampton, recently held a wine tasting in the shop attended by more than 150 people, Lorraine King said. It was an event they never could have held in the old location due to lack of parking.

The 2½-acre property where Newick's was situated was bought by Jack Lessard of Hampton. Lessard knew Kougianos through the New Brothers restaurant in Danvers.

"Half of Hampton goes there," said Lessard.

In turn, Kougianos and Lukas have known each other for about 20 years, and are now co-owners of the Brothers North property.

The plan began two years ago, when Kougianos contacted Lukas about starting something in Hampton.

"Before Jack bought the property I saw people from Massachusetts moving up here," said Kougianos, who emigrated from Greece in 1973. "I think it's going to do well. People are coming from all over to Danvers. I don't see why not here."